SUNDAY!

Also, I need to apologize for the multiple emails this morning.  For whaterver reason the small farm central server has issues with sending emails when I use my Safari browser.  I was not trying to spam everyone!  Im using a different browser so I hope the issue has been resolved.

See you on Sunday morning!

Michael

Processing day begins at 8 am and will last until the birds are finished.  Depending on numbers, we will probably finish about 3pm.  We need help with both the eviscerating and also the bagging and labeling so if you feel squeamish about the process, never fear!  There will be something you can do to help.

We only have about half of the birds spoken for so far, so spread the word!  The best chickens you have ever eaten will be available for pick up either this Saturday after processing or all day Sunday.  The price?  $20 per bird.  They will be in the 3-5 pound range with a few much bigger than that.  They are starting to look like white footballs.  Well, wet white footballs.  :)

They have been fed organically, raised on pasture and are ready to go.  The birds look fantastic and it should be a great weekend for processing.  Come on out!  

Michael

Processing day begins at 8 am and will last until the birds are finished.  Depending on numbers, we will probably finish about 3pm.  We need help with both the eviscerating and also the bagging and labeling so if you feel squeamish about the process, never fear!  There will be something you can do to help.

We only have about half of the birds spoken for so far, so spread the word!  The best chickens you have ever eaten will be available for pick up either this Saturday after processing or all day Sunday.  The price?  $20 per bird.  They will be in the 3-5 pound range with a few much bigger than that.  They are starting to look like white footballs.  Well, wet white footballs.  :)

They have been fed organically, raised on pasture and are ready to go.  The birds look fantastic and it should be a great weekend for processing.  Come on out!  

Michael

Processing day begins at 8 am and will last until the birds are finished.  Depending on numbers, we will probably finish about 3pm.  We need help with both the eviscerating and also the bagging and labeling so if you feel squeamish about the process, never fear!  There will be something you can do to help.

We only have about half of the birds spoken for so far, so spread the word!  The best chickens you have ever eaten will be available for pick up either this Saturday after processing or all day Sunday.  The price?  $20 per bird.  They will be in the 3-5 pound range with a few much bigger than that.  They are starting to look like white footballs.  Well, wet white footballs.  :)

They have been fed organically, raised on pasture and are ready to go.  The birds look fantastic and it should be a great weekend for processing.  Come on out!  

Michael

Processing day begins at 8 am and will last until the birds are finished.  Depending on numbers, we will probably finish about 3pm.  We need help with both the eviscerating and also the bagging and labeling so if you feel squeamish about the process, never fear!  There will be something you can do to help.

We only have about half of the birds spoken for so far, so spread the word!  The best chickens you have ever eaten will be available for pick up either this Saturday after processing or all day Sunday.  The price?  $20 per bird.  They will be in the 3-5 pound range with a few much bigger than that.  They are starting to look like white footballs.  Well, wet white footballs.  :)

They have been fed organically, raised on pasture and are ready to go.  The birds look fantastic and it should be a great weekend for processing.  Come on out!  

Michael

The baby chicks arrived yesterday.  I got a call at 7 am from the post office that the 200 chicks I ordered had arrived and were ready for pick up.  After getting the kids on the school bus, I motored into Westminster and picked up two big boxes of peeping peepers.  Chicks are able to go about 48 hours without eating or drinking after hatching.  They retain the egg yolk in their abodmens before hatching, this supplies them with the nutrients necessary for the first two days.  The boxes have many air holes and the chicks body heat keeps them warm in transit.

The brooder room was set up ahead of time.  As I took each chick out of the box, I dipped their beaks into the waterer.  The baby chicks need to be taught how to drink or they will dehydrate quickly.  They arent the smartest creatures in the world.  I dipped all 200 birds into the water and the baptism seems to have worked.  They all took multiple drinks before exploring their new world.  They have about 12 gallons of water available, many feet of feeder space and plenty of warm pine shavings for bedding. 

I have a special heating device called an Ohio Brooder that I built for the chicks.  Its a 4x4 box with two heat lamps inside.  The temperature stays about 90-92 degrees inside. Very warm for the chicks who need the heat since they dont have insulating feathers for another 3 weeks.  The chicks can self regulate their temperature needs by moving closer or further from the lamps.  When they are cold or stressed, they will peep.  Sometimes very loudly.  When I checked on them this morning, they were quiet as churchmice.  They are warm and happy.

Unfortunately, Im not warm and happy.  After a couple of phone calls and a trip to the feed store, I have found that the price of chicken feed has increased by about 50% this year, give or take.  Organic chicken feed is at an all time high.  Corn prices are through the roof.  Last year a bag of conventional feed was running between 9 and 11 dollars per bag, depending on when I purchased it.  This year, conventional feed is about 16 per bag and, gulp, Organic feed is...36 dollars per 50 pound bag!!!  Wow.  Talk about unsustainable.

Let me give you a basic idea of what a batch of 100 birds will eat in their lifetime.  Depending on circumstances, and there are many factors to consider, a bird will consume about 2.5 to 3 pounds of food for every pound of meat they produce.  Thats a rough estimate.  Efficency of forgaging, weather, temperature, health, stress, all can have a large impact on how well the birds convert their feed into weight.  But a good estimate is that 100 birds will eat 1 50 pound bag of feed the first week, then 2, then 3 per week, then 4, then 5 then 6 bags per week then about one 50 pound bag of feed per day for the rest of the time until they are ready to process.  A good estimate is about 35 bags or 1750 pounds of chicken feed to finish out 100 birds.  

So to feed 200 birds with conventional feed, it will cost about 1100 dollars for a batch of birds.  You can more than double that, almost $2500 in feed costs to grow out 200 birds on organic feed!  The birds themselves cost a dollar each.  So we are up to 2700, plus some additional housing costs, bedding, grit, and some homemade feeders and the costs are closer to 3000.  Then the processing costs hit, which, thankfully I can absorb most of it due to my owning a processing trailer.  Lets say, $2 per bird for processing.  (USDA processing is about $4 per bird)  If I can average $20 per bird, thats about a 4 pound dressed bird, we can gross about 4000 from 200 birds.  The total we can "make" is less than 900 for 8 weeks of work.  $125 dollars per week.  That job at Starbucks is looking better and better!

And the kicker is that these costs are figured for the Cornish Cross chicken, the ubiquitous chicken house bird that grows crazy fast.  Heritage breeds or slower growing hybrids are much less efficient in converting feed into meat.  Red feathered Freedom Ranger birds can take 10-12 weeks to grow out instead of 8 weeks for Cornish Cross.  Add in another 750 dollars in Organic feed for these birds and POOF!  No profits for Farmer Mike!

This isnt a rant, or whining about how farming doesnt pay.  Its simply an educational moment.  A chance to show our friends and customers and the public just what goes into what we do and what goes into the decisions we have to make.  Should I raise my birds with organic feed?  Should I raise my prices?  Will our customers pay more than $5 per pound for chicken?  Would I pay $5 per pound for chicken?  :)

Conventional grains have serious issues attached to them.  GMO feeds, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, fuel, corporate ownership, etc. All of these issues are important to me.  However, its also important to be able to make enough money that raising the birds is worthwhile, and profitable.   You can see that raising chickens with conventional feed makes MUCH more sense from an economic perspective.  From a moral perspective, a sustainable perspective, it is a difficult decision.  What I find is that ultimately, poultry farming is not sustainable.  Feeding corn is not sustainable.  Even raising birds on pasture is not sustainable.  Its DEFINITELY superior, but not economically sustainable.

We will probably not be raising chickens for sale in the future.  We will still do small batches of turkeys for the holidays, as turkeys can forage for up to 30-50% of their diets where chickens will get at most 5-10% of their diet from what they forage.  Geese and ducks can derive even a higher percentage from what they forage.  Chickens, not so much.  Ive pretty much stopped eating chicken in my diet.  Other than chicken soup made from spend laying hens, I cant remember the last chicken I cooked!  Unless we raise them ourselves, we dont eat them.

I welcome feedback from everyone.  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas and solutions and complaints!   Let us know what you think.  How much would you be willing to pay for a pasture raised chicken?  How important is organic versus conventional to you?  How often do you eat chicken at home?  Do you buy conventional chicken at the grocery store?  

Let us know!  

Michael

If you have not yet purchased a Meat CSA share, what are you waiting for!!!!  The Meat CSA is a rolling program where you can start at any time.  3 month packages start at $300 for 15 pounds of meat per month for 3 months. $600 for 30 pounds a month.

There are still 3 whole lambs available for purchase.  Easter is right around the corner so give us a call and we can reserve one of these 50 pound lambs for you.  $6.50 a pound for whole lambs until Easter!  We have several animals still available to send for processing so dont worry if we run out.

Pork arrives the first week of April!  We have purchased 2 pasture raised Berkshire hogs from Evermore Farm in Westminster.  Cant wait!  

The farm is humming right along.  The garlic has been growing beautifully, the pastures are greening up, the garden is tilled and flats of cauliflower and brussels sprouts are going in today.  Crazy weather means this may be a very tough year for gardening.  We will keep you updated with what we have for sale this year.  

Michael

Due to popular demand we have expanded the meat shares offered and are bringing more animals to the butcher.

Call Mike for alternate pick-up times (443)-340-9986 and email or call if you are interested in a share.

Full payment due at first meat pickup unless you have already sent your payment.
$300 for 10-13lb share per month

$600 for 25-30 lb share per month

$300 share details (we will have specifics for the upcoming month about 2 weeks prior to pickup)

Feb- 6 lbs ground meat - 4 lbs beef, 2 lbs lamb,  6 lbs lamb and beef roasts, 2 lbs beef steaks and/or lamb chops, 1 package merguez lamb sausage (bonus item)

March- approx 12 lbs lamb and beef

April - approx 12 lbs - 80% pork, 20% lamb/beef

Happy January!  

I hope your New Year has started off well for everyone.  For the 2012 season we are offering a Meat CSA.  The meat CSA will consist of a combination of beef, lamb, pork and poultry (when available).  Two different packages are available for purchase.  Each share will consist of approximately 50% ground meats, 25% steaks and 25% roasts.  Roasts may be replaced by whole chickens or ducks or geese when available.  Each share will be 3 months in duration.  Those of you who know us will know that we often sweeten the pot with whatever we have extra in the freezer.  Occasionally we will have spent laying chickens that make fantastic chicken stock, soup bones, smoked bones for your dogs, rabbit, eggs,  who knows!!!???

The Meat CSA will be available to start about the first week of February, depending on when I can pick up the beef and lamb from the butcher. I should be able to start dishing out the goods by Feb 7th or so.  The Meat CSA is a great way to sample a whole lot of everything we have to offer here on the farm.  I hope to continue the Meat CSA year round as we should have a growing inventory of farm fresh meats.  These are simply examples of what you will get each month when you pick up your share, every month will be different, every share will be different.  The chickens can be picked up fresh, the rest of the meats will be frozen, vacuum sealed and USDA inspected.  The chickens and ducks will likely be processed here on the farm under USDA exemption PL 90-492.  

We will not be making substitutions.

Small Share   $300

10-15 pounds per month 

Example shares:  6 pounds ground beef, 1 pound ground lamb, 2 pounds steaks (NY strip, Ribeye, lamb chops or rack of lamb), 3 pound chuck roast, one whole organically fed, pasture raised chicken

OR:  4 pounds ground beef, 1 pound pork sausage, 1 pound lamb sausage, 4 pound leg of lamb, one whole organically fed, pasture raised chicken.

OR:  3 pounds sausage, 4 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds bacon, one whole duck, one chicken,

Large Share   $600

20-24 pounds per month

Example shares:  10 pounds ground beef, 3 pounds steaks (NY Strip, Ribeye, Lamb chops or rack of lamb), 5 pounds roasts (leg of lamb, chuck or rump roast, pork roast), 2 pounds bacon, one whole duck

OR: 8 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds ground lamb, 2 pounds ground pork, 2 pounds country pork ribs, 3 pounds pork chops, 1 pound steaks, 3 pounds beef roasts.

OR:  4 pounds pork sausage, 4 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds bacon, 2 chickens, 1 pound beef cubes, 2 pounds lamb shanks 2 pounds steaks or chops.

Poultry Share  $300

Five chickens per month for 3 months.

AVAILABILITY OF MEATS

Beef and Lamb are available every month, chickens and ducks will be available in June, pork will be available in July.  Turkeys and geese will be available in the fall.

Happy January!  

I hope your New Year has started off well for everyone.  For the 2012 season we are offering a Meat CSA.  The meat CSA will consist of a combination of beef, lamb, pork and poultry (when available).  Two different packages are available for purchase.  Each share will consist of approximately 50% ground meats, 25% steaks and 25% roasts.  Roasts may be replaced by whole chickens or ducks or geese when available.  Each share will be 3 months in duration.  Those of you who know us will know that we often sweeten the pot with whatever we have extra in the freezer.  Occasionally we will have spent laying chickens that make fantastic chicken stock, soup bones, smoked bones for your dogs, rabbit, eggs,  who knows!!!???

The Meat CSA will be available to start about the first week of February, depending on when I can pick up the beef and lamb from the butcher. I should be able to start dishing out the goods by Feb 7th or so.  The Meat CSA is a great way to sample a whole lot of everything we have to offer here on the farm.  I hope to continue the Meat CSA year round as we should have a growing inventory of farm fresh meats.  These are simply examples of what you will get each month when you pick up your share, every month will be different, every share will be different.  The chickens can be picked up fresh, the rest of the meats will be frozen, vacuum sealed and USDA inspected.  The chickens and ducks will likely be processed here on the farm under USDA exemption PL 90-492.  

We will not be making substitutions.

Small Share   $300

10-15 pounds per month 

Example shares:  6 pounds ground beef, 1 pound ground lamb, 2 pounds steaks (NY strip, Ribeye, lamb chops or rack of lamb), 3 pound chuck roast, one whole organically fed, pasture raised chicken

OR:  4 pounds ground beef, 1 pound pork sausage, 1 pound lamb sausage, 4 pound leg of lamb, one whole organically fed, pasture raised chicken.

OR:  3 pounds sausage, 4 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds bacon, one whole duck, one chicken,

Large Share   $600

20-24 pounds per month

Example shares:  10 pounds ground beef, 3 pounds steaks (NY Strip, Ribeye, Lamb chops or rack of lamb), 5 pounds roasts (leg of lamb, chuck or rump roast, pork roast), 2 pounds bacon, one whole duck

OR: 8 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds ground lamb, 2 pounds ground pork, 2 pounds country pork ribs, 3 pounds pork chops, 1 pound steaks, 3 pounds beef roasts.

OR:  4 pounds pork sausage, 4 pounds ground beef, 2 pounds bacon, 2 chickens, 1 pound beef cubes, 2 pounds lamb shanks 2 pounds steaks or chops.

Poultry Share  $300

Five chickens per month for 3 months.

AVAILABILITY OF MEATS

Beef and Lamb are available every month, chickens and ducks will be available in June, pork will be available in July.  Turkeys and geese will be available in the fall.